Electrical fuses and methods of making electrical fuses
AssigneeInternational Business Machines Corporation
InventorsNicholas R. Hogle, Baozhen Li, Keith Kwong Hon Wong, Chih-Chao Yang
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A fuse, a method of making the fuse and a circuit containing the fuse. The fuse includes an electrically conductive and conformal liner on sidewalls and the bottom of a trench; a copper layer on the conformal liner, a first thickness of the copper layer over the bottom of the trench in a lower portion of the trench greater than a second thickness of the copper layer over the sidewalls of the trench in an abutting upper portion of the trench; and a dielectric material on the copper layer in the trench, the dielectric material filling remaining space in the upper portion of said trench.
Claims28
A structure, comprising:
- a trench formed in a dielectric layer;
- and
- a fuse comprising:
- an electrically conductive and conformal liner on sidewalls and the bottom of said trench;
- a copper layer on said conformal liner, a first thickness of said copper layer over said bottom of said trench in a lower portion of said trench greater than a second thickness of said copper layer over said sidewalls of said trench in an abutting upper portion of said trench;
- and
- a dielectric material on said copper layer in said trench, said dielectric material only in said trench and filling remaining space in said upper portion of said trench.
A method, comprising:
- forming a trench formed in a dielectric layer;
- forming a fuse in said dielectric layer comprising:
- forming an electrically conductive and conformal liner on sidewalls and the bottom of said trench;
- forming a copper layer on said conformal liner, after forming said copper layer reflowing said copper layer to form a reflowed copper layer, a first thickness of said reflowed copper layer over said bottom of said trench in a lower portion of said trench greater than a second thickness of said reflowed copper layer over said sidewalls of said trench in an abutting upper portion of said trench;
- and
- forming a dielectric material on said reflowed copper layer in said trench, said dielectric material filling remaining space in said upper portion of said trench.
A fuse circuit, comprising:
- a fuse switchably connected between a positive voltage source and ground, said fuse also switchably connected between said positive voltage source and a compare circuit configured to output the state of said fuse;
- and
- said fuse comprising:
- a trench formed in a dielectric layer;
- an electrically conductive and conformal liner on sidewalls and the bottom of said trench;
- a copper layer on said conformal liner, a first thickness of said copper layer over said bottom of said trench in a lower portion of said trench greater than a second thickness of said copper layer over said sidewalls of said trench in an abutting upper portion of said trench;
- and
- a dielectric material on said copper layer in said trench, said dielectric material only in said trench and filling remaining space in said upper portion of said trench.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.